


short on stardust, but there's still time

by amaltheaz



Series: we can't lose hope just yet ('cause it's once, just once in a lifetime) [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, canon-divergent, prequel to pick a blossom, this is like... set in season 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:52:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18906178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaltheaz/pseuds/amaltheaz
Summary: "Kara doesn't have to try too hard to single out Lena’s heartbeat across National City, finding it almost as easily as she finds Alex’s or Eliza’s. The ache in her chest loosens and relaxes when she hears the strong and steady beat and it tells her that Lena is unsurprisingly still awake.And so Kara doesn't spare another thought before pressing Lena’s name on her phone."





	short on stardust, but there's still time

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! 
> 
> So this is the prequel to pick a blossom that I've been wanting to write/post since I was in the middle of writing pick a blossom, lol. 
> 
> I wanted to write how these phone calls between them started and eventually how it progresses to where we started in pick a blossom. Originally I thought about waiting a little bit before posting this but I figure with the finale that we got, we need a little more fluff, don't we? 
> 
> So here y'all go. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> <333  
> Az

Is there a name for jet lag when it comes to world hopping?

It’s been a couple of days since Kara came back from Earth-1 and even though it was only her second time traveling to the other earth, she can't help but feel a little disoriented. Her sleep schedule is completely off. Even  _ Alex _ took the day off after they came back late a couple of nights ago. J'onn, on the other hand, seems to be faring way better than either of them as he went right back to work as soon as they returned home, but she supposed there's no real rest when you're the Director. 

Seeing Barry and the others again was very much worth the jet lag that she feels though. It was so good to catch up with them and also to finally introduce Barry to Alex since they never got to meet when Barry was last in National City, not to mention how hilarious it was to see Alex’s alarmed face when Barry tackled her into a hug. 

She is thankful that today had been light when it came to her Supergirl duties with a few robberies that were quick and easy to handle. But now she’s alarmingly wide awake, a couple of hours close to midnight and though she could do with some food in her belly right about now, she’s far too exhausted to move. So she only has her thoughts to keep her company.

She thinks of Barry and Iris together, and seeing just how much they love each other in and out of that musical universe despite what happened to break them apart in the first place. She knows their whole story, where they started,  _ how _ they started and how far they have come. She has no doubt that they will be able to work it out, that there’ll be a wedding that she’ll hopefully be invited to in the near future. 

Kara has no such thoughts about her own relationship with Mon-El.   
  
Maybe it was the time spent away from him, and the distance, to be in a space where he couldn't follow. It allowed her the opportunity to really see her relationship with Mon-El in a much sharper light. It made her think about what she has to do and what she really wants, whether she still wants to be with him or not. Kara knows that in time, she will forgive him for his lie but she can't say she has the same certainty for their future together.    
  
She looks out her window, easily spotting the Daxamite ship in the far distance. It unsettles her seeing it there and knowing that Mon-El's parents are inside it, just waiting for their son to come back to them. But Mon-El seems adamant that he doesn't want to return to whatever remains of Daxam with them, and despite all that is going on with them right now, she will still fight for him and his right to stay even though she can't really understand why he doesn't feel at least a  _ little _ bit of hesitation.    
  
Even with all the great earthly things she has come to love about being Kara Danvers, about being the daughter and sister to the Danvers family, if somebody had come to her and told her that there is a real chance for Krypton to be reborn, she feels she would hesitate. The chance to breathe back life into a culture, a lost  _ world _ she long thought would die with her and Kal-El, could only ever be a dream come true. 

But there's no bringing back her parents, or the rest of her family and the friends she had on Krypton. There’s nothing left for her there. They're all just her ghosts now, following her every step.

And maybe that makes her more than a little resentful of Mon-El, that he would so quickly say no to this second chance, running away from it to stay with  _ her _ . She doesn't know how he doesn't see how that adds further weight on her shoulders, that she is the sole reason for his refusal to even consider going home. Despite his assurances to the contrary, she knows better. 

They just can't go on this way. 

Kara sighs as she goes through her contacts, intent on calling for a delivery of comfort food from Little Minori when she sees Lena’s name and pauses. Since being fired from CatCo, opportunities to see Lena during the work day have been limited down to merely texting at random times since the last time Kara saw her was the day after she stopped the ship that CADMUS had launched. Kara can still hear the echoes of Lena’s scream as she fell from the highest level of LCorp and a frightening chill goes through her at the thought of not being in time to catch her. 

The arrival of the Daxamites followed by finding out that Mon-El is actually their prince distracted her so completely that she had no time to think about anything or anybody else. And now that she is thinking about Lena, Kara realizes that she  _ misses _ her, misses seeing her and talking to her. 

Kara doesn't have to try too hard to single out Lena’s heartbeat across National City, finding it almost as easily as she finds Alex’s or Eliza’s. The ache in her chest loosens and relaxes when she hears the strong and steady beat and it tells her that Lena is unsurprisingly still awake. 

And so Kara doesn't spare another thought before pressing Lena’s name on her phone. 

\---

It's approaching 11 in the evening when she hears her phone ring. 

Lena frowns for a second, wondering who it could be at this late hour. She hopes that it's nothing to do with LCorp as she had only just gotten home an hour ago. She just had the most soothing, hot shower that loosened the tension in her back, eased the weight on her shoulders. She just wants to lay in her bed and read her book until she’s tired enough to go to sleep. 

When she picks up her phone, she softens, smiles instantly at the sight of deep blue eyes staring back at her. She wonders why Kara is calling her so late, hopes that there isn't anything wrong with her friend, but Lena goes to her closet anyway, blindly grabbing a shirt and a pair of sweatpants just in case she needs to be ready to leave at any moment. She accepts the call once she's got the shirt over her head. “Kara, is everything okay?” she asks in a rush, not even giving Kara a chance to greet her. 

There’s a pause before Kara says anything, as if she's taken aback and confused by Lena’s brusque greeting. “What? Yeah, everything’s okay. Are you okay?”

Lena lets out a breath of relief as she slowly closes her bedroom door, pressing her forehead to it. She presses her hand to her chest, feels the racing of her heart, and takes a deep breath. “Yes, I was just worried. You don't- you don't usually call this late.”

They've only been friends for barely a year but this might just be the first time Kara has ever called her during non-working hours. There’s something to be said about hearing somebody’s voice at this time of night. She has barely said much but Lena can already hear how much quieter Kara is, how much more subdued. Kara always seems so much larger than life in the light of day that it almost seems strange to hear her like this.

“Oh no, did I wake you?”

She shakes her head, rushing to reassure her friend. “No, no, I was awake. I just got out of the shower actually.” 

“Oh, should I- um, should I call another time?”

Lena frowns, chewing at her bottom lip. Even if it is that time of the night, it somehow feels wrong for Kara to seem so hesitant, especially with her. It can't only be that Kara is tired from her day. She’s calling Lena for a  _ reason _ and her worry strains at her to find out why and what she can do to make it better. Their friendship is still so new that Lena isn't completely sure how to approach this. “Are you sure you’re okay? You just- you don't sound-”

“I- I don't know, honestly,” Kara finally answers after a long pause. 

“It- Do you need me to come over?” Lena asks, pressing the speaker button before throwing her phone on the bed so that she can actually pull on her sweatpants without falling over.

She only has gotten them past her knees when Kara replies, protesting. “No, no, you shouldn't be driving this late. Could you just… stay on the phone and talk with me for awhile?”

A part of her thinks about just going ahead and making her way to Kara’s apartment across the city. A part of her wants to physically be there for Kara, for whatever it is she seems to be going through right now. “Are you sure? I wouldn't mind coming to see you. I've missed you.” 

It doesn't hit her until she said it, the ache in her chest at having missed her friend. She almost can't remember the last time she saw Kara. Has it been weeks, maybe? More than that? She herself only just came back from a two-week visit to the Metropolis branch the other day, and judging from the long texts about the articles Kara has been writing lately, they have both been very caught up in their own work. 

“I’ve really missed you too, but I don't think I'm really good company right now.” 

“You're always great company, Kara.”

“What were you doing before I called?”

She gracefully takes the subtle hint of deflection, kicks the sweatpants off her legs before climbing up her bed to grab for her book that's sitting ever faithfully on her bedside table. Old memories come rushing through her at the touch of a tattered front cover and she smiles with longing at the sight of the tape that's just barely keeping it all together. “Well, I was getting ready for bed and I was going to do a little reading before going to sleep.”

“Oh yeah? What book are you reading?”

Lena pauses before she answers, hesitant. “ _ Pippi Longstocking _ ,” she confesses, a hot blush rising up her cheeks. Though she knows that Kara won't necessarily judge her for her choice in nighttime reading, she still feels a little embarrassed. But it’s a book that she has loved fiercely since she was a little girl, a book that came with her from the orphanage and has been with her through everything that has happened in her life. She thinks of the tattoo inscribed across the left side of her waist, of the line in one of the books that inspired its existence. Perhaps it's not exactly embarrassment but shyness that she feels at sharing with another person something that means so much to her. 

She needn't have worried when Kara only sounds curious when she replies, “I’ve never read this one before, Pippi Longstocking? What is it about?”

Lena gently flips through the book, catching a whiff of the musky scent that has long seeped into the flipping pages. “Well, it’s about this young girl and her adventures as she lives on her own, financially independent with her monkey and her horse.”

It must sound completely odd to anybody who hasn't read it but Kara doesn't seem to let it deter her. “Okay, but what do you like about her?”

Lena smiles affectionately as she wonders if Kara realizes just how charming her curiosity is. It's no wonder she finds it so easy to talk to Kara. “Oh, there is so much to like about her, Kara. She’s brave, kind, strong, independent and she lives to defy all expectations.” She pauses then, breathing out a husky chuckle before adding, “She kind of reminds me of you now.”

A quiet sound of protest comes through the phone and Lena can easily imagine the flustered expression on Kara's face. God, does she love doing that to her. “I- oh well, I don't know, Lena. She actually kind of sounds a lot more like you too.”

It comes as a surprise and Lena feels her cheeks heat up at the unexpected way that Kara turned that around on her. “Would you... like to borrow it sometime maybe?”

“I’d really like that.”

A heavy, hesitant silence follows. 

“What is it, Kara?” she asks softly. 

She waits patiently as she hears a slight rustle in the background and she pictures Kara trying to make herself comfortable in her bed. “Could you, um- read a little bit of your book for me?”

She hears the same inflection in Kara’s voice as she did after she first picked up the call. It twists something tight her chest and Lena can't have that. So she doesn't think to ask why. 

“Of course. Let me just get settled, okay?”

\---

Lena’s voice is low and soothing as she reads from her book and Kara finds herself completely entranced by it. 

She’s in a dream-like daze, feeling much closer to sleep now with Lena's whispering words soft in her ear. There's a warmth that simmers steadily in her chest at the comfort this moment brings to her. For the first time in a few days, she isn't thinking about this crappy situation with Mon-El, about the potentially dangerous one with the Daxamite ship hovering in the distance. She isn't thinking about anything but the gentle lilt of Lena’s voice and the strong and steady rhythm of her heartbeat across the space of National City. 

She starts to understand too just why Lena loves this book. Lena might not have said as much, but Kara could hear it laced in her friend’s voice. 

It isn't until she hears the unmistakable sound of Lena trying to power through a yawn just so she wouldn't stop reading that Kara breaks out of her stupor. She pulls back to glance at her phone, wincing when she sees that it's so much longer after midnight than she realized. “Lena,” she murmurs, lightly apologetic. “You should probably get some sleep.”

“I can stay awake a little longer if you need me to though.”

Something flutters hard in her chest at the nonchalant way Lena demonstrates her affection. She truly believes that Lena would fight the exhaustion, would stay awake just to keep her company, and she wouldn't say a thing to complain about it. She just wants to be there for her and that’s- that’s something Kara isn't sure how to comprehend from somebody that isn't Alex or Eliza. And Kara can't be selfish like that. “I don't want to be the reason you're dead on your feet at work tomorrow.”

“I’ve gone to work on much less sleep.”

She laughs quietly, shaking her head in disbelief at Lena’s gloating. “I don't think that's something you're supposed to  _ brag _ about, Lena.”

“I’ll take anything I can get.”

“You're ridiculous.” Kara shakes her head in disbelief, completely adoring how silly Lena is being with her. She wonders if that's what Lena is like when she’s so close to sleep, with her inhibitions so lowered that she is less careful with her words, less likely to care about how she comes across. She wonders how many others get to hear her like this and appreciates just how lucky they are that they get to experience Lena like this.

“I happen to think I’m quite brilliant actually.” 

She rolls her eyes, laughing once more. “Then go to sleep, oh brilliant one.” 

“Fine, fine.” Lena sighs loudly, almost in a dramatic fashion that Kara can't help but giggle at the sound of it. “Kara?” Lena’s voice is hushed, tender, and Kara hums quietly to let her know she’s listening as she leans into the whispered exhalation of her name. She recognizes the intimacy of this moment, recognizes that her friendship with Lena is going to be much different from now on, stronger. “If you ever need somebody to talk to, you can call me anytime, no matter what time it is. Whether it's eight in the evening or three in the morning.” 

“Really?”

“What are friends for?” 

She can almost picture Lena’s self-deprecating shrug as she says that, as if what she had just offered is anything but monumental, as if she doesn't understand how incredibly intoxicating it is to have her sole attention. But maybe from what little she knows about Lena and her family history, it's not so terribly far-fetched.

“It should go without saying, but you can call me anytime too.”

“Willingly giving a Luthor full access to you? Some people would say that's a dangerous way to live.”

“Psh, danger? I eat danger for breakfast.”

“Amongst all the other god-awful things you already eat?”

Kara snorts. “Exactly.” 

\---

“Kara?” Lena waits until she hears the blonde hum tiredly through the phone and she can’t help but smile when Kara mumbles incoherently.

Affection swells beneath her ribcage and she wants to trap that feeling, keep it deep inside her so that she won’t ever, ever lose it. Her mind runs so many miles a minute and sometimes it gets so loud - so goddamn loud - but when she thinks of Kara, everything quiets and dims and Kara’s smile is the sun. “I think it’s really time for us to say goodnight now.”

This is probably the third or fourth time attempt to properly say goodnight but there just seems to always be something that either she or Kara suddenly remembers to bring up, inevitably distracting them and keeping them from sleeping sooner. Not that she really minds though as Kara lets out this tiny sigh; it’s reluctant and wistful and Lena feels it resonate in her chest. 

“I think so too,” she murmurs softly before letting out another sigh. Lena can hear Kara’s smile in that one this time. “Thank you, Lena.”

“For what?”

“For being on the phone with me even though it’s really late, and I’m sure you probably had a busy day at work and will have another one tomorrow.” Kara seems to pause then, as if to take a deep breath, as if her next words have been sitting heavy inside her. “Just- Thank you for staying.”

Lena thinks that there’s something about the word that Kara used.  _ Staying _ . “I’m here for you, always,” she promises, a promise she knows deep in her bones that she’ll die to keep.

“You’re the best.“

“Hey, do you maybe want to do brunch soon?”

A pleased hum travels through the speaker. “I would really like that. Text me?”

“I will. Goodnight, Kara.”

Once Kara replies with a soft goodnight, Lena waits for a beat and another and another and another, listening to the sound of Kara’s quiet breathing over the phone. She takes a deep breath.

“Sweet dreams, Kara,” she whispers softly.

**Author's Note:**

> Find on tumblr @maybewritingthings or on twitter @amaltheazwrites


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